ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

CD'S ARE HERE!!! "GREASE & SMOKE" WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS I CAN GET IT LOADED ONTO THE WEB SITE! "Fire in the Hole!" and "Fish or Cut Bait" will probably take a little longer but they will also be available very soon.

Hello, everybody! Doctor Mongo is my name. If you've heard me play, you know I love the Blues but there's more to my story. Friends and fans can check out the music here, look for upcoming performances on the gig calendar, buy CD's and download singles or leave a message on the guestbook.

Whether I'm playing at an outdoor festival, a roadhouse or around the campfire at a Mountain Man Rendezvous, you'll get a big dose of that Good Time Feelin', which is what I always prescribe!

Many Thanks, Doctor Mongo

Note: This site is underconstruction. Check back for new stuff. Music should be coming in July!

HOW DOCTOR MONGO GOT HIS NAME

I am a native Son of the Golden West, born 'Way Down South' in Glendale, California. I decided to become a drummer at age 12 and by 13 I was playing in surf bands in Southern California. Nobody could sing, so we loved playing reverb-drenched guitar instrumentals for our teen-aged peers. About this time, a Sears Silvertone acoustic guitar came into my possession and I began to work out Jimmy Reed rhythms and boogie woogie figures when I wasn't flailing at my drums.

I retired as a drummer in 1974 and bought my first good guitar, a Guild D 25C which I still play regularly, in 1976. I got some instruction from Kenny Hall in Fresno around this time and began to focus on improving my playing and singing.

After learning some "Commie Chords" from Ted Flanigan down in Austin, Texas in the late '70's, I purchased a Fender Stratocaster and a Princeton Reverb amplifier from a guy who was leaving town in Billings, Montana. I had worked up the nerve to sart playhing amplified guitar in public around 1983 and here is where the intricate tale of the naming of "Doctor Mongo" begins.

At this time I had what is commonly known as a "real job" as a petroleum geologist in Billings, Montana. We were quite busy and our draftsman, Dick Lorenz, was overwhelmed with work. After his request to hire assistance was refused by management, Dick circulated an interoffice memo declaring that, henceforth, priority of future drafting projects would be determined by order of battle! He set up pairings of competitors and gave us all nicknames: Paul "Mongo" Garrison vs. Mike "Bear" Bryant. I was named for my physical resemblance to former Detroit Lions lineman Alex Karras who played the stupido bandito Mongo in the movie "Blazing Saddles. But wait - there's more!

Everybody in the office began to call me "Mongo" and I cheerfully accepted my nickname. Sometime later, I was demonstrating my patented hook shot and getting my usual two to three inches of "air" while shooting hoops at the YMCA with one of my colleagues, Bob Grabb. Observing my athletic prowess, Bob doubled over in laughter. I asked him what was so funny and he declared that my performance had reminded him in an ironic way of "Doctor" Julius Erving and the name "Doctor Mongo" had popped into his mind, thus reconciling a ridiculous image with a ridiculous name. I also began laughing when he explained the situation and this led to the next stage in the evolution of my name